Trust Stuttgart’s boffins at Porsche to find a talented solution, even when it’s hard to improve on the status quo.
The Porsche 911 GT2 RS is meant to be a daft car. When trying the most recent, 515kW version, we bumped into Porsche test driver Richard Attwood, who called it “f****** ridiculous”. And given he won Le Mans in a 917, he should know.
That example, as GT2s before it, was all about the boost. It had a decent level of initial engine response but then – wham – up spooled the turbos to give you even more, and because it all came through just two rear contact patches, it would likely set the rear tyres alight.
But without the extra weight of electrification that applied to so many supercars and hypercars, it was monumentally fast, in both a straight line (2.8sec to 100km/h) and around the Nürburgring (6min 47.3sec). This new version will be heavier but, I’ve no doubt, faster again.
I’d rather a GT2 RS wasn’t about to get 100kg heavier, but if anyone is going to apply mild-hybrid technology, you’d trust it to Porsche.
And I’m intrigued about lots of it. Will the boosting properties of the electric motor fill the torque gap at low revs and effectively tame the response, even while making it more powerful?
Under what conditions would you want to charge the battery while accelerating? And what does this new ultra-rapid charge and discharge mean for less performance-oriented cars?
And then, finally, I just want to know what it’s like on a circuit when you get to a good open corner, turn in, get on the power and hold on for the ride.